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Hurricane Sara (2038) (Misteeer)
Hurricane Sara, occasionally referred to unofficially as the Atlantic Monster, the Superstorm of the Century, or Superstorm Sara, was the largest, costliest, and one of the most intense tropical cyclones on record in both the Atlantic hurricane basin and worldwide. The twenty-second tropical depression, eighteenth tropical storm, twelfth hurricane, and sixth major hurricane of the 2038 Atlantic hurricane season, Sara developed from a tropical wave over the Cabo Verde Islands during the early morning hours of September 24. That fall, water temperatures in the Atlantic were some of the warmest on record, topping up in the upper 80s to lower 90s Fahrenheit in several locations across the Atlantic. Thus, Sara was able to quickly strengthen as it crossed the open Atlantic, and was already a Category 5 storm by the name that it made its first landfall on the American territory of Puerto Rico during the afternoon of October 1. It inflicted severe damage on most of the island, with sustained winds topping out at 190 miles per hour in coastal northeastern sections of the island and widespread rain amounts of 2 to 4 feet, causing catastrophic flooding. As Sara passed over Puerto Rico, it gradually weakened, becoming a high-end Category 4 storm. However, it continued to strengthen after moving over open waters, becoming a Category 5 once again by midday on October 3. Even as Sara's eye passed over 100 miles east of the Bahamas, it still inflicted severe damage across the island nation, befalling eastern sections with hurricane-force winds and dumping feet of rain in some areas. It was nearly as large 2012's Hurricane Sandy, with measurable rain falling as far west as the Gulf coast of Pinellas County, Florida, over 300 miles from the storm's eye. At around 6:30 AM local time on October 5, Sara made its second landfall near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States, as a low-end Category 5 storm. It wrecked havoc on the Outer Banks and other large swaths of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia, with portions of the Outer Banks experiencing sustained winds as high as 165 miles per hour and some areas receiving up to 5 feet of rainfall from the major hurricane. Sara was a much larger storm than Sandy, which had been the largest Atlantic hurricane by diameter before Sara. Even as the eye passed over 100 miles east of the Mid-Atlantic states as it paralleled the coast, the region experienced tropical storm or even minimal hurricane-force sustained winds, over a foot of rain in many areas, and even mountain snow in swaths of the Appalachians. Snowfall amounts in the Mid-Atlantic peaked at 36.7 inches near Snowshoe, West Virginia - the location's first seasonal snowfall event. Sara proceeded to move into cooler waters, with temperatures ranging from 75 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, causing it to weaken slightly. However, it was still able to maintain its historic strength further north than any other Atlantic tropical cyclone since the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635, which impacted New York and New England. When it made landfall near Fire Island, New York on October 7, it was still a Category 4 major hurricane - the strongest hurricane to impact the region since records began being kept in the 19th century. Hurricane-force winds extended approximately 86 miles from the storm's center, and tropical-storm winds approximately 159 miles. During the early morning hours of October 8, Sara made another landfall near New Haven, Connecticut, as a high-end Category 2 hurricane that had very recently lost major hurricane status over the Long Island Sound. As in other locations that it had impacted, however, extreme winds, while catastrophic, were not the main cause of the devastation - extreme flooding, with up to 5 feet of rain falling, and 30-foot storm surge, with isolated waves as high as 90 feet, in many coastal locations were. Sara devastated much of New England, with hurricane-force winds and extremely heavy rain in southern and eastern areas, along with blizzard conditions created by heavy snow and tropical-storm force winds in the higher elevations of northern and westernmost New England. Snowfall totals in New England peaked at 56.3 inches at the summits of Mount Washington, New Hampshire and Mount Mansfield, Vermont, with widespread snow totals of 1-3 feet as far south as the Berkshires of Massachusetts and Connecticut and as far west as the eastern portion of upstate New York's Adirondack Mountains. After moving into the Gulf of Maine, where water temperatures still approached 80 degrees because of record-warm temperatures in the region that fall, Sara slightly strengthened, reorganizing enough to become a minimal hurricane - albeit for only approximately 18 hours. During the late morning of October 12, Sara made landfall near Shelburne, Nova Scotia, as a minimal hurricane. However, it still caused catastrophic flooding, with a storm surge as high as 10 feet and up to 4 feet of rain falling in isolated locations. As it moved into cold waters with temperatures ranging from 65 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit, Sara rapidly weakened, quickly losing its status as a minimal hurricane once again. On October 13, it made its sixth and final landfall near Glace Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, as a minimal tropical storm with sustained winds of approximately 40 miles per hour. Again, however, it caused severe flooding, with a 5-foot storm surge and up to 3 feet of rain falling in isolated locations. Some more northerly locations also received a wintry mix or snow, with the northernmost high elevations recording up to 2 feet of snowfall. After moving into the open Atlantic, where water temperatures were as low as 50 degrees in some locations, the now-tropical depression Sara rapidly weakened, finally becoming an extratropical cyclone a few hundred miles south of Greenland during the early morning hours of October 15. The cyclone's outer bands dumped anywhere from a trace to 2 feet of snow in portions of Greenland, and up to 4 feet of snow across much of Iceland. On October 18, Extratropical Cyclone Sara degenerated into a remnant low over the British Isles. However, it still managed to dump up to a foot of rain and 1-3 feet of mountain snow on the islands. Finally, Sara's remnants dissipated over the North Sea on October 22. Throughout its path of death and destruction, Hurricane Sara had caused approximately $302 billion (2038 USD) in damage, making it the most costliest Atlantic hurricane by far. It had also damaged or destroyed over 1 million structures, claimed 3,044 lives, injured over 4,000 more people, and caused catastrophic flooding, with rainfall peaking at 71.8 inches near Wilmington, North Carolina, as well as snow, with snowfall peaking at 56.3 inches on the summits of both Mount Washington, New Hampshire and Mount Mansfield, Vermont. During the annual WMO meeting in May 2039, the WMO made a unanimous decision to retire the name "Sara", as requested by the United States, Canada, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, France, the United Kingdom, Cuba, and the Bahamas, due to its extensive and historic death and destruction across huge swaths of the Atlantic, and will never be used again for an Atlantic tropical cyclone. Meteorological history On September 20, a tropical wave exited Africa. The wave consolidated as it moved to the west, dumping heavy rain across the Cabo Verde Islands as it stalled over the island for nearly four days. On September 21, the NHC designated the tropical disturbance as a Potential Tropical Cyclone, and began reconnaissance flights into the storm the same day. On September 24, the disturbance developed a closed low-level circulation, and was declared Tropical Depression Twenty-two by the NHC. Due to a strong ridge to the north, the depression began to move almost entirely due west, where it encountered extremely favorable conditions for further tropical development. On September 25, a Hurricane Hunters flight observed sustained winds of 44 miles per hour (71 km/h) inside the storm, and thus it was declared a tropical storm and assigned the name "Sara".Category:Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes Category:Works by Misteeer Category:Storms by Misteeer